Hot Springs for Spring Break

It was a nine hour drive there, but on the way we crashed overnight at Hannah's pad at Aggieland.  Her roommates were already gone for spring break so we spread out air mattresses, cots, pallets, and a pack N play to squeeze all nine of us into her little apartment.  The second days drive was only 6.5 hours and it went by pretty quickly catching up with Hannah.  Roman is an excellent car rider as long as we can all listen to Baby Signing Time CDs on repeat for ever.  He doesn't sleep much or well, but he's happy and strapped in(translation = not getting into trouble.)

The first full day of vacation, we drove a couple hours away to check out a Benedictine Abbey in Subiaco.  We went to Mass, met some parishioners (one from Texas!) and spoke with a monk for a while.  We snapped a couple pictures and popped into the gift shop for homemade hot sauce that the monks make and sell.  We headed back after a picnic lunch in order to catch a reservation at Delucas for three pizza doughs with no table.  At this restaurant, they only take reservations for the dough, not the tables, so we had to get there earlier than our reservation and wait an hour or more for a table to eat the pizza at.  It was so very worth it.  It was amazing.  Our waiter was energetic and fun, and a little eccentric.  The owner came to our table and brought us free lasagna rolls and garlic bread as an apology for our wait.  The lasagna rolls were the absolute best.  

Subiaco Abbey

Waiting for the table...

He was a trooper despite two days of no naps, but he had to stay in the baby carrier.  No highchair would've worked.  So I ate with him tucked in here nice and comfy.

Day two was the botanical gardens (see below for more info).  We went to Bathhouse Brewery and had another huge wait for a table.  The restaurants are all very small there and apparently can't handle the visiting population.  Again the food was great, though not to top Delucas.

Day three the girls and I went to the oldest, continuous running bathhouse in Hot Springs called the Buckstaff Bathhouse.  We arrived at 7:30am.  The line was already growing and the place didn't open the doors until 8am.  Hannah held down the fort while Genna and I got coffees.  In the end the line was just long enough for us to walk to get coffees, bring them back and drink them before it was time to check in and fill out release forms.  However, that was only the beginning of our wait.  Once upstairs you are changed and put in another waiting room for several hours.  One by one we were eventually led into the back and experienced the old style baths minus the cold needle shower at the end. (They no longer offer it since COVID, but I didn't find out why.) Included was a mineral water tub soak, a hot towel wrap (plus a cold one for your face), a sitz bath, and a steam shower in a metal box with a hole for your head.

Day four was the final day and the day many had been waiting for...the pontoon rental!  It was an overcast and chilly day.  The oldest 5 kids loved it, but Roman and Bob were off and on.  Bob just got upset a couple of times about silly things, but overall enjoyed it.  Roman did not like going fast and was screaming during those parts.  He did like listening to music and being able to walk around with me holding onto his life jacket handle.  He also liked getting to "drive."  It was a four hour trip and we had no major disasters, so I guess it was a success.  Technically.  Though it didn't feel like it for me most of the time since I was on Roman duty the majority of it.

I let go of him for 1.5 seconds to snap this picture and everyone gasped.

One of Bob's pouting periods

Roman and I got in some good walks with bird watching and learning a few of the native trees and bushes with the help of Google Image.

Off the back porch/deck of our AirBnB:  Ducks, geese, turtles and all kinds of birds.  I love just walking out my back door and seeing all kinds of wildlife.

Isaac needed to do some school work and Roman needed a good nap after many missed ones since he barely sleeps in the car.  So I stayed home with them on Day 2, and the rest of the crew went to the botanical gardens in the area.  This was the highlight for a couple of the kids which surprised me.

 

Spring Break

For a few days of our spring break, we went to stay at Brian's parents condo on the lake.  It is near their house, so the girls actually stayed with the grandparents and the boys stayed with us.  We could walk to eat, play in the hot tub, read, and play games because there was no Wifi or TV set up yet which was really nice actually.  One day, an old friend came over with new games and we played games nonstop for ten hours.

It was a really relaxing trip actually.  Roman accidentally got "pushed" on the first day to four hours between feeds and I was so worried how I'd make up the ounces that evening only to find that he was hungrier and started actually eating enough more than usual to make up for the missed bottle.  He went to 5 bottles a day and hasn't had to go back to 6 bottles since.  He even took a 7 oz bottle that day which he hasn't ever done again, but he's still getting enough (24-27 oz/day) and gaining weight.  Yay!

The following week was spring break for our nephew (from Indiana) so they came through for one quick overnight visit.  He brought his virtual reality game and let the boys try it.  One of the games is walking off a plank that is super high in a city.  Brian couldn't do it, but I did it even though I thought I was the one afraid of heights.  I was just better at playing the mind game of reminding my brain that my feet were on solid ground.  

So cute!

Yes, somebody got a giant cookie in he middle of Lent since Mommy was at the doctor with Roman.  :)

Our favorite restaurant in all of San Antonio!

Isaac was hooked.

This was actually the first day he got his helmet, but he didn't have it wrapped yet.  More on that later.

Roman's been officially inducted into the family beach trips!

After getting back home with Roman we had the week to go to his doctor appointments and get a little settled, but by the time Friday came around, he came with me to Genna's volleyball game and then we hit the road at after 9pm leaving straight from the gym to drive a couple hours to Corpus Christi to the beach condo that we still had rented another two weekends.  Brian had taken the big three boys to the car show in Houston, so it was just Bob, the girls, and Roman with me for the weekend.  

The beach play pen that every child has used at the beach.  It's getting a little musty and old.

Roman slept the whole drive and didn't wake up even when I got him out to change him, give him his bottle, and put him in his travel bed.  Neither he nor I heard my alarm go off at 4am to do the middle of the night feeding, so he slept about 7 hours that night.

Bob's little cot at the foot of my bed.

Roman in his travel bed.

The weekend was fun and went great up until the middle of Saturday night when I was struck by some kind of stomach flu.  I still felt awful in the morning so we got up and the girls fed the baby and packed the van while I donned a mask and laid in bed.  I was so thankful for Hannah being able to drive.  She hadn't had a ton of highway driving experience, so she needed it anyway.  We switched places right before we got to the city, and I finished the last bit of the drive.  Once home, the girls took the baby and let me sleep and rest for the rest of the day.  I felt so much better the next day and I was super careful though to wash my hands extra well for the next couple of weeks so as not to transmit anything.  I had considered the possibility that it was food poisoning, but I just couldn't pin down any foods that no one else had eaten.

 And despite that very rough ending to the weekend, I came back for more the next weekend.  :)  Brian drove down with the homeschooled boys on Thursday and I once again left straight from the volleyball game with Roman and the three big kids this time.  Roman slept through the drive again making it a peaceful trip.

Smile!

Look how tiny he looks in the there!

Visiting my mom's condo first thing in the morning with Roman.

This weekend ended without any illnesses and we closed up our beach condo for the year.  Next year, we'll be staying at a different place because my sister bought a condo nearby, but my mom will still be here with her corner unit on the beachfront.